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How SARS-CoV-2 initiates its replication process during infection is not yet fully understood. Researchers from the Helmholtz Institute Würzburg have now shown for the first time in the journal Cell that it is the human protein SND1 which works together with the viral protein NSP9 to stimulate the virus’s genetic replication program in infected cells. The scientists were surprised to find that NSP9 acts as the first building block in the production of new viral genetic material. The findings are significant for further basic research, but they could also lead to new avenues for the treatment of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases caused by coronaviruses.

The cooperation project MICROBELIX was jointly launched in spring 2023 by researchers from the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) and the Naturlandstiftung Saar (NLS). Together, both institutions set out to compete in the citizen science contest Auf die Plätze! Citizen Science in deiner Stadt. After a public voting phase and the evaluation by a jury of experts, the MICROBELIX team could claim one of the three winning places and a 50,000 € prize. The award ceremony took place on September 28, 2023 at the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin.

Saarbrücken, 21. September, 2023 - Researchers at the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) have again succeeded in acquiring funding under the BMBF-funded "GO-Bio Iinitial" program. The funding measure aims to identify promising research approaches in the life sciences, to exploit their innovation potential and to enable a seamless transfer into application. In the now funded project "ChloroMalaria-2", a novel class of natural products for the treatment and control of malaria will be further optimized.

Virologist and Jun Prof Stephanie Pfänder has been awarded the Jürgen Wehland Award 2023. A scientist in the Department of Molecular and Medical Virology at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum, her research focuses on so-called emerging viruses, in particular coronaviruses. She received the award during a ceremony attended by the Mayor of Braunschweig, Anke Kaphammel, and guests from science and the alumni network of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI). This is already the ninth time that the HZI has awarded the Jürgen Wehland Award, which is endowed with 5,000 euros, to honour young scientists who have made outstanding contributions to the field of infection research. The award ceremony took place at the HZI Forum event centre in Braunschweig.

In a new study, an international research team shows that the very cotton buds, which we all got to know so intimately during the COVID-19 pandemic, are a valuable tool to map biodiversity. This was the result of an international research team led by scientists at the Helmholtz Institute for One Health (HIOH) in Greifswald, a site of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig, Germany. In essence, the researchers demonstrate that a vast multitude of birds and mammals can be detected by simply swabbing the DNA left behind by animals from leaves. They showcased the power of this approach in an ecosystem that hosts a ton of wildlife and where detecting animals has historically proven extremely challenging - the tropical rainforest. The study was published in Current Biology.

Prof Rolf Müller, the Founding and Scientific Director of the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) and Professor of Pharmaceutical Bioltechnology at Saarland University, has been honoured with the prestigious Charles Thom Award. This award, given by the Society for Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology (SIMB) and named after industrial microbiology and mycology pioneer Charles Thom, honours researchers for their exceptional merit in industrial microbiology and biotechnology, and their independence of thought and originality that added appreciably to scientific knowledge. The HIPS is a site of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in collaboration with Saarland University.